May 06, 2020
Drug funding reverse an opportunity
The Cancer Society has told the Epidemic Response Committee Pharmac’s decision to reverse its decision to fund the lung cancer drug Keytruda was an opportunity lost.
Medical director Chris Jackson says lung cancer was the country’s number one cancer killer and a major problem for Māori.
He says funding the drug would have been a way to not just prolong lives and relieve suffering but also to achieve equity in cancer outcomes.
The drug-buying agency says it can’t be done because of price uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Jackson says there have been 30 per cent fewer cancers diagnosed over the lockdown and the health system must now catch up or lives will be lost.
That could require extra capacity in an already-stretched health system, possibly including evening and weekend clinics, more scans, and use of the private sector.
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